iPakistan is a new social media initiative set up by a group of Pakistani university students to change the global perception of Pakistan. Reaching out to others via the web, their aim is to re-brand Pakistan and break the stereotypes that often result in discrimination and prejudice towards its people.

Type out ‘Pakistan’ in the Google Images search bar and scroll down the first few pages: one would find pictures of maps,  the Pakistani flag and images that spell out a country torn between poverty and war. Although this may be the harsh reality in some parts of Pakistan, it is not the only reality of this South Asian country, as some are prone to believe.  With the kind of news surfacing daily regarding the conflicts, bomb blasts and political issues of not only the country, but also its neighbors’ it’s not hard to see why most people have a negative outlook on Pakistan. Rehman Ilyas aims to change this by replacing the post 9/11 images of terrorism, extremism and war zone to that of extremely talented youths, scenic landscapes and rich culture.

As a Lahori studying at the University of Hong Kong, Ilyas found himself subject to questions about Pakistan ranging from relatively normal ones such as “Do you have any malls there?” to more ridiculous ones like “Is there Taliban in your family?” He was always aware of the injustice done by the world media news in regards to their portrayal of his country but he was unaware of the severity of it until he arrived in Hong Kong.

“People only got to see that 1% of Pakistan in which the War on Terror is going on, in the media, and take that to be representative of the entire Pakistan,” he said.

Instead of merely complaining, he took action and decided to play his part in correcting the wrongly propagated image of his country. He started with doing his own online research on the subject and pitching the idea to his friends, followed by doing pilot tests on Facebook and a trial website. A survey was even conducted to realistically depict what the world thinks of Pakistan. Tackling the issues from there, what initially started out as a personal contribution to his country has now expanded to a website and a Facebook page with contents from over 80 team members, a diversified group of youths spread over 10 countries all intent on introducing the real Pakistan to the world.

Ilyas also intends to reach out to the world for a greater purpose that could help Pakistan in a myriad of other ways. According to him, “The 2011 floods in Pakistan were worse than the Asian Tsunami and the Haiti Earthquake combined, and an area the size of England was inundated in water. Despite all this, the media coverage and global aid intervention received wasn’t even close as compared to these other recent natural calamities, simply because people around the world were not interested in helping out a country which in their minds, harbors terrorist groups and is a base camp for terrorist activities around the world.”

Setting the global views straight, even one person at a time, could slowly prove to be beneficial for 180 million Pakistanis. With Pakistani businessman and traders at exhibitions around the world facing difficulties when questioned about bringing in supplies reliably to and from a war zone, Ilyas’ project could have a positive effect on his country economically as well.

Along with changing the way others perceive his country, Ilyas would also like to see a few changes within the nation itself. Speaking for a majority of the population, he said, “Most Pakistanis crave for a change of leadership. We are done with having the same corrupt leaders elected again and again, and this needs to end now. Pakistan is blessed with both vast natural resources and human capital, and given the right leadership we have the potential to develop into a regional superpower.”

Another sub-project that Ilyas has been working on is ‘Romancing the Border’ and is aimed at another issue spread across the nation: the social gap between Indians and Pakistanis. With most youths having been raised with a mindset bearing hatred for the other side, the stereotypical views separate the youths despite the fact both sides may be similar to each other in a lot of aspects. Backed by Stanford University’s Peace Innovation Lab, this cross-border initiative provides an online platform for youth from both sides of the border to interact with each other and to encourage pro-social behaviors between Pakistanis and Indians.

Having received positive responses so far regarding iPakistan from both Pakistanis and foreigners, Ilyas hopes to reach out to the masses and in the foreseeable future, instead of us receiving war torn images of Pakistan as soon as we Google the word, iPakistan will appear on the top search results and bring about a positive first impression of the country.

Perhaps it is a sign of change in the world when youths stand up to defend their country, and not in the traditional means of violence or crude words, but by showing the rest of us what their nation is capable of, what makes it beautiful, and most importantly, what makes it their home and source of pride. With that, Ilyas leaves us with one last statement on his beloved homeland, “We are not a country supporting terrorism. In fact, we are the country which has sacrificed the most in the war against terrorism.”

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

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SIPP International Industries, a diversified company, parent to several divisions in the food and biotechnologies industries, is pleased to announce the acquisition of the cutting-edge Cell Robotics Imaging Work Station. The acquisition was completed through the purchase of a secured note which later went into default.

The Cell Robotics Imaging Work Station will be used to combat the rising rate of global biological terrorism by remotely identifying, isolating single bacterium, and researching key pathogenic agents including anthrax, small pox and botulism. This technology will also be integrated into the company’s Z-CAC Controlled Atmosphere Cargo Container.

The Cell Robotic Imaging Work Station has many additional uses for investigators, physicians and pathologists, including early detection of cancer and monitoring patients before, during and after medical treatments.

The newly acquired technology upgrades the already successful Cell Robotics Work Station with the addition of an analytical imaging software package and new, more powerful Laser Scissors. The new software provides state-of-the-art image analysis and data management capabilities. “SIPP is planning to work diligently to improve and enhance these products,” states Gregg Pearson, Chairman of SIPP International Industries.

The Imaging Work Station still includes the well-known optical trapping laser and Laser Tweezers, but now offers a choice of three available cutting lasers, or Laser Scissors modules. The increased power of the newest Laser Scissors module will allow researchers to easily dissect fresh, frozen, or fixed tissue sections, in addition to live cells, useful for molecular analysis of biopsies.

The Cell Robotics Imaging Work Station is designed for investigators in both basic and applied research, working with stem cells, transgenic animal production and cloning, and functional genomics or proteomics. Additional imaging upgrades are available to include automated cell identification and deconvolution.

“We are very excited about the Cell Robotics Imaging Work Station. This cutting-edge technology will further help the medical community at large as well as assist investigators in combatting the rising use and threat of biological terrorism. We anticipate this acquisition to accelerate our revenues in the near-term,” states Gregg Pearson.

“The technology also provides a perfect synergy with the Cell Robotics Pathology Work Station. As the industry is evolving toward molecular medicine, the goal of modern physicians and pathologists is to precisely monitor a patient before, during and after treatment.

The Cell Robotics Pathology Work Station is designed to provide pathologists with new tools for the retrieval of specific cells to allow molecular analysis of biopsies. Once the specimen of interest is identified by the pathologist, the laser automatically cuts around it using the new auto-cut software,” says Pearson.

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